


Stormy Weather

by RunMarmiteRun



Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: F/M, Gen, non Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-02-28 15:56:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18759634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunMarmiteRun/pseuds/RunMarmiteRun
Summary: Sometimes it’s the calm before the storm...and sometimes it’s the storm that makes you realize what you’ve been missing.Season 2 after Mission 14 before Mission 18





	1. Chapter 1

The rain was endless, or at least that’s how it seemed. Elissa, who was now finally beginning to respond to Runner X, was staring out the window of the mess. Sam was poking at the table apparently trying to discern what was in the mystery soup today. I was starting to get that anxious feeling. Quiet wasn’t good anymore, not in long stretches. Sam was finally starting to lose some of his awkwardness around me again, and I was frankly having a bit of a laugh since Simon kept insisting on showing up during my workouts. 

X had been coming along too - and she frankly blushed and stammered when he tried to flirt with us or show off his gym moves. The man was an incurable flirt, and I found it hilarious. He couldn’t help himself - and I got the feeling he would probably go mad for styling products. I was fairly certain he flirted with himself in the mirror, but anything that could give me a laugh now was a good thing. I hoped X wasn’t actually falling for his lines though - she struck me as the type that might take his interest seriously and be hurt by it.

Sam had come over to the table now. “I’m fairly certain these are nettles and chunks of spam? It gives a certain piquant delicacy to the stew.” He slid onto the bench next to me. When he accidentally brushed my elbow, I felt that small jolt and tried to ignore it as usual. Ever since the party I had been trying to sort myself out, but I had accidentally let a little more show than I had meant.

X came away from the window and sat across from us. “We’re starting to run low, you’ll be making a supply run for things soon even if it is raining. Maxine and I have infirmary supplies mostly but they rotate me over here to the mess too and the tinned goods are starting to look low. Can’t supplement with gatherings wild plants or hunting and fishing as much when it’s this wet.” I nodded. I’d been thinking the same thing. I hated running in full on rain. It was always somewhat wet, but this soggy drenching was a different matter.

Sam dipped a spoonful of the soup up, letting it drip back down into his bowl again. “Yeah, much as I savour the delicious variety of recipes we can devise using Spam, after what happened, well, it’s a bit like the national lottery in here each time we have it. Besides, Five, was it you I saw desperately saving those labels from the tins? We don’t the coupons so I’m guessing you were looking for recipes?” I was getting up, waving blithely at them both. I saw Simon headed in the door, and frankly I wasn’t in the mood to hear about how many crunches or barbell raises he’d done so far today. 

“Just who I was looking for, beautiful!” Simon said as he came in the door. “Janine said we need to head out on a supply run in about an hour, so don’t go hit the gym without me. We’ll be off on our own taking a lovely run to the shops for supplies for delicious candlelit dinners in just a bit.” He winked flirtatiously then headed to the table. “Elissa X, lady of mystery, and Sam, the man who has all the women hanging on his every word...I’ll just be joining you for a few. Janine sent me over to find you for official business, but maybe you can give me a few pointers on chatting up the birds, eh?” I headed out the door. Simon was absolutely incurable. He even had male bonding flirting as part of his repertoire apparently.


	2. Chapter 2

The mud was the worst of it. Simon was chattering away, and that was fine. There had been that small run-in with the zoms at the corner shop we’d initially thought was abandoned, but otherwise not a bad run so far. Simon was a bit reckless sometimes, just as he’d been when we were escorting the vans, but he seemed to have the physical stamina to back up his recklessness. I’d learned to tuck a road flare into my bra when possible to help distract zoms if he accidentally got us in too deep. I’d started checking contractor’s trucks, builders’ vans, anywhere I might find them, just because they might be the tool that saved me. Today, though, it hadn’t seemed like a brilliant idea to carry a magnesium road flare tucked into my bra no matter how handy. Something containing magnesium tucked into my bra just didn’t seem clever when it was pouring down on us and every bit of my body seemed ready to dissolve in the damp.

We were running at a medium pace, trying just to slog through. The road we were on to head back to the township had never been well-paved, and the constant wash of rain over the past month hadn’t been doing it any favours. Simon was a little ahead of me, his pack about half full of random tinned goods, talking cheerfully about how he was quite sure the tinned baba ganoush we’d found could be used to make some sort of party casserole. Simon loved parties, being the life of the party, and was always arguing for throwing parties for any possible reason. Sam came on the coms talking about how perhaps this time Simon could keep his shirt on and not try to do a Michael Flatley impersonation if we had a party, and I sort of grinned. It had actually been a reasonably good impersonation until he stepped into the plate of food.

That’s when it started happening all at once. Sam interrupted his retelling of Simon’s antics to let us know there were zoms headed in from the east, and Simon, looking as Sam told us where they were heading in from, stepped in a muddy pothole and went down.


	3. Chapter 3

“Well, care to join me for some mud wrestling, Five? I think my ankle might be a bit gamey but I’ve wanted a chance to show you my beautifully toned biceps for a bit.” Simon flashed a sheepish but still ridiculously charming smile my way. Sam was going mad in our ears. “Three? Five? What’s going on? Why are you stopping? There are zoms heading towards you, you need to run! Get out of there! Double back toward the church there perhaps then come back to Abel? You’ve got to move!” I looked at Simon, who was trying to get to his feet, then having his left ankle collapse under him.

I looked. There was a row of housing, looked like I might be able to force a door. I motioned to Simon to lean on me. Sam was still in my ear. “Five? Three? Someone tell me what’s happening!” I’ve got cams showing the zoms heading towards you. What are you doing heading towards the side of the road? Talk to me!”

“Well, Sam, it looks like Five won’t take me up on mud wrestling today, pity, because I bet she’s a corker, but she appears to be helping me limp toward these row houses. I’m guessing since they’re slow zoms they may have issues with stairs, if we can get to the upper floors maybe wait them out a bit.” I just kept going. I got Simon over to the door, then did my best to force it open. I rammed into it with all my force. First I tried my shoulder, then I remembered watching all those awful police shows. I kicked. My shoes were muddy and I nearly fell. “Uh, guys...there are zoms...they’re getting closer...”

I prepared to kick again, looked over at Simon...and noticed the window he was leaning against was open. I rolled my eyes at myself and then motioned for him to help me. It was swollen from moisture but eventually started to move. I shoved Simon through.


	4. Chapter 4

“Right then, we’re safe and sound indoors now, too bad there’s nobody to draw off the zoms...wait, Five, what are you doing? I was just getting ready to curl up here and have a lovely wait till they bash in the door, you at least got us into a house which looks stocked for making as many kinds of martinis as I can imagine...”. Simon gestured toward the 1950s inspired decor and the interesting bar setup which looked to be made from an old television set and a standing record turntable.

“Right, Runner Three, your headcam is working a bit, static and grainy but that is one immense bar setup...looks like a definite leaning toward shaken not stirred there. Did it look like the zoms were moving in?”

Simon, while limping over toward the bar and beginning to dig through the bottles, answered Sam in his usual offhand manner. “Well, there were about ten of them that we could see, but that banging at the door is probably not the postman.” Simon got a glass from the setup and began pouring himself some kind of concoction. “Might as well get cozy, if I’m going to go might as well feel good about it, right Five?”

I looked out the window. They were beginning to mass, despite the rain. I began to dig through my pack. Sam came over my headphones. “Three, Five, don’t be desperate...Five, is there a back door? Some weapons? Something? I haven’t got cams inside besides what Three is looking at...which apparently is mostly Five’s bum...Three, can you look at something useful? I mean, not that Five isn’t useful, she’s quite useful, I mean...right, look around the room or something, can you? Anyway, the zoms... I can see them starting to gather at the front. Five...you can look for another way out, right?” He sounded strangely hopeful and desperate at the same time.


	5. Chapter 5

I continued to shuffle through the items in my pack, the random assortment of items, mostly food, that we’d picked up as we’d run. I had a highly sensible backpack, an old Molle bag, even had a rifle sling. Today I was wishing I had a rifle but I didn’t, so here we were. Three, that is, Simon, was now lounging on the sofa with a glass in his hand.

I found what I was looking for; after the incident with the Aurora, during which I’d been reduced to running along banging my hand against the hull trying to make noise, I’d decided I needed a better noisemaker. So when I’d found yet another apparently broken mobile phone and realized the potential, I’d carefully hunted through bits and pieces till I’d found what I needed.

I rearranged my pack, pulled a bottle of whiskey, and put it in my pack. I started cutting a thick piece from the curtain and brought it over to Simon. He looked at me. “What’s this, then, Five? I didn’t take you for a Fifty Shades fan, but I’m game if you are...we haven’t much time though, you’ll have to be quick.” I rolled my eyes at him and started binding up his ankle. It wasn’t a bandage but the thick cloth might give him some support.

“Uh, Three? Five? Some sort of news to report? Not to be demanding or anything but I am supposed to be, you know, helping you get out, and I’m sort of not seeing what you’re doing. I am seeing, though, quite a few zoms sort of massing at the door. Is there a plan? Five? You’ve usually got a plan? You’re making one, right?”

I grabbed a cocktail napkin and looked round for something to write with. There - by the fish tank made from an old telephone- a fountain pen. Someone had definitely liked their decorating theme.


	6. Chapter 6

Simon looked at my scribbled note, then at me. I motioned to him to read it as I carefully checked my shoes and my pack straps. He started to read, but kept looking over at me.

“Sam? Five has a plan. She’s telling me to read this. I...I’m supposed to wait for a few minutes while she draws off the zoms and...then head straight back to Abel while she circles round and you guys get the snipers ready, if possible. She says she has a...homemade noisemaker?” Simon looked over at me. I held up the mobile phone with the cracked screen.

“I’m to go as fast as possible and you send out someone to meet me. She will take a loop back toward the village then back on the forest trail towards Abel, drawing the zoms. She’s written here that McShell had noted some possible slowing of activity when it was raining or cold, she might have less chance of picking up too many as activity was pretty low today anyway. Then...she says that the first song is always for you? A little hard to read, something about how the tower light stays on and she will keep heading in. I don’t quite get that part. Anyway...wait, Five, what are you doing?”

I was climbing out the window. Sam suddenly started clamoring in my ear, Simon was spilling his drink and trying to hobble away from the sofa. I was out the window. I saw the zoms at the door, they were clawing. I made sure the volume was up, the music app was selected, and I pushed play. Rag and Bone Man started to sing “When I heard that sound, when the walls came down, I was thinking about you...”. The zoms turned and I ran. One foot in front of the other “It was almost love, it was almost love...” the music played on, my feet hit the mud and puddles as the rain poured across my back. There was Sam in my ear “Five, what are you doing? Please, you don’t have to save everyone every time... you don’t have to be the hero every time...ok, I’m just the radio operator, I don’t care, you can’t be another Alice, please...just come home...”

I put one foot in front of the other, hearing them behind me. I veered to the left and headed down the trail. Sam began calling out to Simon. “Three? She’s gone down the trail. All the zoms are following Five. About ten or so. You’d better get here to Abel. I don’t care how bad your ankle hurts you had better get here, and no nonsense. Five - hang on. Keep moving. I’m getting Seven and some of the others. Just...keep running.”

I kept putting one foot down in front of the other, not looking back. The song ended, and another came on. “Don’t know why there’s no sun up in the sky...”


End file.
